GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — When it comes to Mike Knuble’s 16-year NHL career, timing always seemed to be on his side.
“I was fortunate,” he explains. “I got to move to New York and play with Wayne Gretzky in his last year. So there was a lot of fun stuff.”
But as memorable as playing with the great one was, Knuble says it can’t compare to the real highlight of his time in the league: playing with the 1996-98 Red Wings.
“That was a pretty special group,” he says of that team. “You look back at the roster and it was just amazing how many Hall of Famers are there.”
The '90s Wings hold a special place in his history and the former right winger’s heart. After all, this was the team that gave the current Grand Rapids resident his first shot in the bigs.
“We’ve all been in situations where you keep your mouth shut, you keep your ears open and just watch,” he says.
And that’s exactly what this was for the now 47-year-old Griffins assistant coach. In fact, in that first season with the team, he played in only 9 games and was essentially a spectator as Detroit went on to win its first cup Stanley Cup title in 42 years. Still, he was a Wing and in Detroit that certainly had its perks.
“You are like a god in this town,” he says with a smile. “The people love the Red Wings, it was great.”
It’s been 23 years since the night Detroit made history, but for the former Michigan wolverine the memory is still as fresh as ever.
"You know we played in front of some big crowds at Joe Lewis when we were at Michigan but when it’s 19 thousand Red Wings fans and you’re on the ice, it’s pretty special. Yeah, I happened to be in the right spot,” he said.
A little bit of luck and the first of his two Stanley Cup championships.
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